Vinny Appice Played Dio and John Lennon's Final Shows

Appice tells The Classic Metal Show: "Before I met Black Sabbath I met Tony Iommi the night before. The next day I went down to the rehearsal studio and I met Ronnie, Geezer Butler, Geoff Nicholls on keyboards and Tony again.

"The first song we played was Neon Knights - the first song I ever played with Ronnie and the last song I ever played with Ronnie. It's a weird trip between 30-something years from the first time to the last."

He only recently discovered that he was also behind the kit for Lennon's last-ever performance, shortly before his murder in 1980. Appice says: "We did the show at the Hilton and it was a live worldwide telecast. That was his last appearance ever - and I f***ing played on it. I didn't know that until a magazine called Guitar Aficionado came out last year." Stream the full interview here.

Mother Protests 'Satanic' School Bus Lights

WMC Action News 5 reports: "Anyone who fears a God, if not God and Jesus Christ, should be outraged. If you can't put a cross on there, you can't put a pentagram on it."

The news service says they won't reveal her name because she's "getting death threats for her views." Education bosses haven't commented. Read more and see the photo of the lights here.

Linkin Park's Chester Bennington Shares Post-Leg Surgery Photos

"Headed into surgery in an hour. Ass kicking will commence in 6 weeks," tweeted the singer on Jan 20, followed by a first post-op image of his foot in a cast. "I will now set off metal detectors everywhere."

On January 23, Bennington posted a photo while getting some fresh air outside in a wheelchair. "First ray of sunshine since the surgery. Thank you to everyone for all your support and well wishes."

On Monday, the rocker posted "Looking at my ankle for the first time since the surgery. IT LOOKS INSANE!!!!" and tweeted two pictures of the scars from the leg surgery.

"Lookin good," he wrote, adding, "Thanks for stopping at the tattoo Doc." Check out the photos here.

Mastodon Aimed To Make Catchy But Not Cheesy Album

But they were careful not to veer into cheesy territory. Sanders tells SpazioRock: "We've tried to incorporate more melody - not only guitar-wise, but vocal melodies and vocal harmonies and vocal patterns that really are catchy. Like hooks that bring you in and make a song more memorable.

"So we did spend more time and effort on trying to find those right vocal moments for this new record without cheating the song's music itself. You can find vocal patterns that are catchy and meaningful to the song without just being cheesy about it and singing for the sake of not screaming. We're always trying to be better songwriters, and just continue to evolve and make songs that don't sound like the last song we wrote." Read more here.

Jon Anderson Releases Audio Documentary

He continues by talking about his adventures in Indonesia and China, discovering a gamelan music school, explorations in Bali and other journeys. Reflecting on how one's music will last far beyond one's life, Anderson says he'd love it if, some time in the future, a group of young musicians get together and say: "Let's do what Yes did - let's play their music and see what it would sound like now. That would be cool."

The Mysteries Of Music documentary includes Yes masterpiece Awaken along with many samples of music that's meant something to him over the years. Stream the documentary here.

Cancer Bats Release 'True Zero' Video

Frontman Liam Cormier recently told Metal Hammer about Robinson's infamous recording techniques, which included throwing objects at the singer's head while he was in the vocal booth.

Said Liam: "It was fun to go to work in a war zone! He only throws stuff when things are going well. It's part of the energy that he brings and you're stoked that he's throwing stuff at you while you're recording because that means everyone is killing it. He's not throwing a Coke can at your head because you suck!"

Watch the video here.

Black Star Riders' Warwick and Johnson Answer Burning Questions

Guitarist Johnson says: "I think that the Lizzy faithful have been incredibly supportive of this band doing two things. Creating brand new music, and continuing to celebrate and honour the spirit that was Phil Lynott, that was Thin Lizzy - and that is Thin Lizzy because Lizzy lives on in all of the fans, and in Scott Gorham for sure."

Asked about last year's split with bassist Marco Mendoza - who was replaced by Robbie Crane - the pair say they remain good friends with Mendoza. "Marco is our boy, he's our brother," Johnson reports. Read more and stream the full Q&A here.

Uli Jon Roth Views His Songs As His Children

And he says going back to those old songs - originally recorded in the 1970s - was an enjoyable experience both in the studio and on the road with his band.

Roth tells LA Weekly: "When you're a songwriter, composer, your songs are a little bit like your children, and these are basically very, very old children of mine.

"They've grown up. They've gone through a lot of changes. They've seen a lot, and I still feel connected. Some more so than others, but particularly when we were recording them and playing them on tour, I felt very much connected.

"It was as if we've never been apart. But we have been apart because there was a very long stretch of time where I did not listen to them or play them live." Read more here.

The Sirens Release Live 'Fearless' Video

Kristine revealed the project came about following a chance meeting with van Giersbergen at the Masters Of Rock festival in the Czech Republic in 2013.

She said: "We only had a few minutes to talk between our gigs but we agreed that we should get together and tour. Anneke told me she had just talked to Kari and that was the 'go' for The Sirens."

The group head to South America later this week for shows in Mexico, Chile and Brazil. Watch the video here.

Singled Out: Lord Dying's A Wound Outside of Time

"A Wound Outside of Time" is a personal piece about struggling with alcohol addiction and the madness that comes along with it. Something I have struggled with for the better part of the last 14 years or so. While it might come across seeming pretty dark I like to think the listener can also discover a sense of hope.

The lyrics for the song were written while we were in the studio. I was terribly unprepared as usual and in between Chris' guitar over dubs Joel told me that next thing was my vocals for 'Wound' and I was like oh sh*t! I've still gotta go write the lyrics!" So I jotted down what first came to mind.

The song was written while we were working on a handful of songs for 'Poisoned Altars', but this one came really fast. I wrote a couple of riffs and then showed them to Chris and then we realized the structure was there. We always wanted to write a few songs that were short and catchy. There really aren't enough of those out there in the metal world, this was our attempt.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself and learn more about the album right here!

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