And it looks like there will be some special guests helping Durbin out. "In the studio working with James Durbin on a killer track!," tweeted Motley Crue guitarist Mick Mars on Wednesday.

Last year STP dropped the off of their tour early after singer Scott Weiland had an exciting multiple-night run of falling off of stages and announcing to the crowd he had also fallen off the wagon. This year the band took another run at it and was receiving mostly positive reviews � all was going well�until last night.

The chief executive of one of the largest entertainment retailers in the United Kingdom has said that the shelf life of the compact disc is coming to an end.

Bassist Tom Hamilton checks in with an update on the project in a new video message for fans. "We're finished with the basic tracks" says Tom. "We've cut 13 basics and we're gonna sit with that for the moment. The bass parts are done, subject to some adjustments in the future. The drum tracks are all done, and we're starting to do guitar overdubs. It's fun. I enjoy going down to the studio and hanging out with the other guys while Joe [Perry] and Brad [Whitford] do their work. So that's probably what we're gonna be doing for the rest of September. And then we're gonna start rehearsing and getting ready for the tour in South America and Japan, which will take us to the end of December."

Rumours had been rife that Megadeth might miss the last scheduled appearance of the touring event which has seen them sharing a stage with genre mates Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax since last year.

It's two decades they released two records in one year and lost drummer Steven Adler, guitarist Izzy Stradlin and manager Alan Niven along the way. In the years to follow everyone but singer Axl Rose would quit the band and move on to other projects, leaving the name in the hands of the frontman who maintains it today.

Black Label Society's drummer situation of late calls to mind the movie Spinal Tap. In the past year they have had three different drummers including Will Hunt (who left for Evanescence), Johnny Kelly (Type O Negative), and most recently Mike Froedge.

The sticksman quit his prog-metal outfit while touring with Avenged Sevenfold last year, and recently said he loved the experience of being able to play drums without having to be involved in a band's decision-making process.

That's the day Weiland will finally unveil his Christmas album, titled The Most Wonderful Time of the Year, on Rhino Records. A press release (via Blabbermouth) reports that the record includes a diverse array of styles from big band swing to reggae to bossa nova. Check out the tracklist below.

Simmons says: "Ace and I had a nice, friendly lunch together. It was wonderful to see him. He looked healthy and happy.

The ex-Skid Row man says: "They put their faith in a heroin addict. How did that work out for them?

The guitarist explains: "It changes everything. I can't just jump out of bed and go outside. It's been different, trying to remember you have one leg.

The song comes from their album, Beat The Devil, which was released late last year.

The Compulsions Rob Carlyle on lead vocal and guitar, Richard Fortus (Guns N' Roses, Thin Lizzy) on guitar, Sami Yaffa (New York Dolls, Hanoi Rocks, Michael Monroe) on bass and Frank Ferrer (Guns N' Roses) on drums along with many of Carlyle's favorite local musicians; including long revered blues guitarist, Hubert Sumlin (Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters).

He split the nu metal act in 2003 over his bandmates' use of methamphetamines. But he now says guitarist Meegs Rascon and drummer Mikey Cox are "clean off of hard drugs."

On October 4, "Weird Al" Yankovic Live! � The Alpocalypse Tour will be released in North America on DVD and Blu-ray by Comedy Central Home Entertainment and Paramount Home Entertainment and download-to-own including iTunes and Amazon Video On Demand.

Larkin says: "We get along great with Mick Mars and Tommy Lee. I got along great with Nikki. In fact, he had called me over one time and asked if I would like to play on his Sixx:AM project. But then, four weeks into the tour, him and Sully had this clash.

Following on from that conversation, band founder Mick Fleetwood has confirmed that Fleetwood Mac will play again next year.

Pale Griot Films is proud to present the US Theatrical release of Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone in New York and Los Angeles this October. The film had its World Premiere at the 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival, and went on to screen at the SXSW Film & Music festival, among many others. Everyday Sunshine will open on October 7th at the ReRun Theater in Brooklyn, NY, and on October 21st at the Laemmle Sunset 5 in Los Angeles, CA. Many other cities (including Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, DC) will follow.

The show is set to take place at City National Grove in Anaheim, California on October 28 and 29.

Barlow told the Daily Express that he has more big names in store: "I'm so thrilled that these incredible artists are giving their time for such a special charity that is very close to my heart. There are still some great acts we're keeping up our sleeve to announce in the coming weeks and who knows, I might even sing a little something on the night, too."

The Van Halen News Desk is offering up a series of quotes from the book by fellow rockers. Lita Ford from The Runaways who checks in with her story. She says in part:

Here is the official word: On Saturday, September 24th the film "Lloyd The Conqueror", staring Mike Smith (Trailer Park Boys) and Brian Posehn, will premiere as part of the Calgary International Film Festival at the Globe Theatre at 7:00 PM.

Payload is Hot Head Show's only composition to address Cultural Friction, Foreign Policy, or the Frailty of Wartime Diplomacy. Jordan's grandad started the CIA.

The piece opens with a stirring leitmotif stated first by Copeland's searing contratenor, and subsequently developed away from its harmonic centre with increasingly elaborate interjections from the pizzicato strings. The majority of the dialogue is carried by the Bass Guitar, with Drums and Cymbals lending a general ambience of heavy artillery punctuated ruthlessly by the Rhythm Guitar's heady whining deathrattle.

All in all, Payload is a rampant gushing of flagrantly clever counterpoint and balls-out opportunism. We couldn't help but do it. The fact that it's about politics shouldn't affect anyone's approach to listening to it.

"Now I've realized, it's insane. When we started doing it, it didn't seem like it was that big of a deal," he said. "So we were like, 'Yeah, we'll do a song that is six hours long � it will be fun.' But then you get in to it and your like 'F--k, what the f--k were we thinking?' We finished it last night, around two o'clock in the morning because we knew we were leaving today and we were gonna be gone for a little bit and we didn't think we'd be able to get back to it. It's taken us about three weeks. I think, in our usual overconfidence, I think we thought it would take a couple of days and it's taken a couple of weeks."