Writing in a post on his website, Iommi.com , the guitar player thanked fans for their support throughout 2012 and also made reference to his battle with cancer. He wrote: "What a year! Certainly not the one I was expecting. Thanks to you all for your massive help and support, it was very encouraging. I'm still working on the album and managed to play three shows, not bad given the news a year ago. I'm looking forward to next year, seeing what you think of the record and touring as much as we're able."

Guitarist and leader Kevin Shields recently told NME the record will be released via the MBV website, followed by an EP of new recordings also in 2013. Shields said the new record "really frees us up, and in the bigger picture it's 100% necessary.

"People who like us will immediately connect with something. Based on the very, very few people who've heard stuff-- some engineers, the band, and that's about it-- some people think it's stranger than Loveless. I don't."

Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones received the honors earlier this month in Washington. The annual award is given to those in the performing arts for their lifetime of contributions to American culture.

The Foo Fighters opened with "Rock And Roll," which featured drummer Taylor Hawkins out front on lead vocals while Dave Grohl handled the backbeat.

Kid Rock was up next, performing "Ramble On," from "Led Zeppelin II," while Lenny Kravitz followed with that album's opening cut, "Whole Lotta Love."

The first track is a performance of the "Binaural" b-side "In the Moonlight" featuring Queens Of The Stone Age's Josh Homme.

The other cut is the "No Code" outtake "All Night", featuring Joseph Arthur, Liam Finn, and Glen Hansard.

The event will be held on June 8th and 9th in Detroit, MI; more news, including artist lineup and ticket details, will be revealed in February.

And the frustrated singer vows that if the concert film doesn't hit shelves soon, he'll take action himself.

Guitar icon Montrose shot himself in March this year. He had suffered from clinical depression for much of his life, and the deaths of his uncle and dog within weeks of each other are understood to have been factors in his decision to commit suicide.

The following month, surviving Montrose members Hagar, Bill Church and Denny Carmassi fronted a memorial event that also starred Joe Satriani, Neal Schon, Tommy Thayer, Jimmy DeGrasso and many others.

Leading Australian news site News.com.au reports that the tour will kick off on March 9th in Perth and will include five concerts.

The site points out that Axl Rose may face a challenge when he plays the show in Melborne if he takes the stage late.

The band announced on Christmas day that they were ending their hiatus and launching a UK and North American tour in 2013.

On Wednesday, the band announced that they will also be releasing a vinyl version of the live album, Wiser For The Time, on March 19th.

The tour will be headlined by Anthrax who will be performing their classic 1987 album, Among The Living, in its entirety on the trek.

Anthrax will be supported by Exodus, Municipal Waste and Holy Grail and the tour will kick off on March 23rd in Las Vegas.

MSO sent over these details: The line-up features a virtual who's-who of the Los Angeles music community including a reunion of The Original Blasters: Dave Alvin, Phil Alvin, John Bazz and Bill Bateman; X; The Knitters; James Harman; Frank Fairfield; and the Mike Ellred Trio. Overseeing the evening's festivities is M.C. Big Sandy. Other special guest performers will be announced in the coming weeks.

Tickets for the benefit are $30 and all proceeds will be used to cover Phil Alvin's medical bills from a recent illness. In addition, a reproduction of the Fender Mustang guitar Dave Alvin played when he was in Blasters will be signed by performers and auctioned the evening of the benefit and a special poster created by acclaimed Portland graphic artist Gary Houston with these monies also allocated towards Phil's medical expenses.

The Black Keys are. The Ohio blues-rock duo are enjoying a victory lap in their road-tested career, recently scoring five 2013 Grammy nominations, including Album of the Year and Best Rock Album for their platinum-selling El Camino, capping off a stellar year that included headlining music's biggest festivals and playing to sold-out arenas worldwide.

The full band was interviewed on Lucker's 28th birthday (October 20th), shortly before he died in a motorcycle accident on Halloween.

"I still think it's bullsh*t when people try to tell you that being a full-time band from Iowa is harder than being a full-time band from... Well, anywhere else. There are certainly setbacks, yes. For instance, not a lot of touring bands reside here, nor is this a music industry hub by any stretch of the imagination. Our parents or parent's friends [probably] weren't wannabe-pro-musicians at any point, so it's difficult to find a social context for what building a life as such could look like. Seclusion breeds a firm respect for tradition, so ideas like a transient lifestyle can seem socially taboo.

"What this means simply, is we don't grow up with any basis for comparison on how to navigate getting involved with a national, or for that matter international, music scene. There is the inevitable necessity for a bit more trial and error among young bands. You really have to want to look for it, because there is no chance of it just falling in your lap. Exploration is half the fun in my (our) opinion, and from experience we happen to know that every band from the middle of nowhere anywhere is just one 80 day DIY tour away from having all the contacts they need to build real momentum.

The group announced a string of UK tour dates for the trek, two California dates and also stated that more US Dates will be announced next month.

The current lineup features guitarist Keri Kelli (Alice Cooper, Slash's Snakepit), bassist Robbie Crane (Ratt, Lynch Mob) and drummer Matt Starr (Ace Frehley).

The band have released a special, limited-edition 180 gram audiophile black LP of their current album, Apocryphon, and are offering fans the opportunity to purchase the vinyl (and additional band merchandise) at a 25% discount by using the special code RT25 at checkout beginning now through January 1st on their online store here.

His camp says: Bumblefoot dug into his vault to find an unreleased, heavier version of the song "Misery" from his Abnormal album. The song is free to everyone, all you have to do is visit www.Bumblefoot.com and join the brand new Bumblefoot email list.

"The only problem with that is figuring out how to work out the music situation," Sorum said. "If there was a film about Guns N' Roses, the thing about Guns N' Roses that was different than all the butt rock bands in Hollywood was that it was down and dirty and punk rock and real. As much as anyone wants to say they want to try to lump it in with hair metal, it never was because it was a different kind of energy.

Crowds at the Coachella Festival were shocked earlier this month when a computer-generated version of the rapper, murdered in 1996, performed on stage with Dr Dre and Snoop Dogg.

"By now, the devastating truth of Ronnie's death is public knowledge. We hope you can understand why we wanted to keep this news a private family matter for as long as possible. We can only hope that you will choose to celebrate Ronnie's life, and what his music meant to you, rather than mourn his passing. Ronnie would have wanted it that way. He loved being a guitarist, a composer, a producer, and a creator of magic. He fully understood his gifts, and yet he constantly pushed himself to evolve, improve, and make better music. He did this for himself, and he did this for you, because he adored and appreciated his fans. Please keep his energy, his joy, and his love in your hearts.

Simmons says events unfolded in 1982 when Kiss parted ways with guitarist Frehley. Van Halen appeared in the band's studio, where they were working on new material, and played the main theme from future hit single Jump on a synth.

This Is Gloucestershire reports Plant will debut his new band, The Sensational Space Shifters, at a May 8 concert at the Gloucester Guildhall in Gloucester, England.

Russell last month served papers against his former colleagues for continuing to use the band name while he was working on a project called Jack Russell's Great White. Later he said: "That's not Great White � who are they kidding? I fired them all on December 10."

The three long-standing musicians hired XYZ singer Terry Illous to carry out a 30th anniversary tour and later decided to start creating new material, following a number of incidents which left Russell too ill to work.

He's branded the people behind CBS flagship news magazine 60 Minutes as "brutal" for their work � and says he and his colleagues were forced into a state of nerves because of presenter Lara Logan's low-cut top.

Rose issued an open letter on Wednesday, explaining his decision. Here is what he had to say: When the nominations for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame were first announced I had mixed emotions but, in an effort to be positive, wanting to make the most of things for the fans and with their enthusiasm, I was honored, excited and hoped that somehow this would be a good thing. Of course I realized as things stood, if Guns N' Roses were to be inducted it'd be somewhat of a complicated or awkward situation.

Since then we've listened to fans, talked with members of the board of the Hall Of Fame, communicated with and read various public comments and jabs from former members of Guns N' Roses, had discussions with the president of the Hall Of Fame, read various press (some legit, some contrived) and read other artists' comments weighing in publicly on Guns and the Hall with their thoughts.

Under the circumstances I feel we've been polite, courteous, and open to an amicable solution in our efforts to work something out. Taking into consideration the history of Guns N' Roses, those who plan to attend along with those the Hall for reasons of their own, have chosen to include in "our" induction (that for the record are decisions I don't agree with, support or feel the Hall has any right to make), and how (albeit no easy task) those involved with the Hall have handled things... no offense meant to anyone but the Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony doesn't appear to be somewhere I'm actually wanted or respected.

Levon Helm was the much-respected drummer (and the only American-born member) of the legendary Canadian rock group The Band. He was also the lead vocalist on many of the classic Band tracks, including "The Weight," "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" and "Up on Cripple Creek."

"We reached out to Wendy Dio [wife of Ronnie] about wanting to be a part of the Dio tribute that's getting put together," says singer James Hetfield in the latest issue of Metal Hammer. "We're very honoured to be a part of that, and to be a part of a celebration of Ronnie's life and his great contribution, man."

"Clifford, Jeff and I started Palms a little over a year ago out of a desire to continue making music together after ISIS ended," explained Harris. "Chino joined shortly after and our sound took shape from there. We've worked really hard on this first release and are excited for people to hear it. It's nice to be back behind the drum kit, and with this line up."

"Being a huge ISIS fan I've always dug the moods these dudes convey with their sound," added Moreno. "I am excited to combine my sense of creativity with theirs, and to have fun doing so."

Speculation increased recently when former Hole guitarist Eric Erlandson stated he'd heard "raw, rough acoustic" tracks had been laid down and added: "There is stuff that has not been put out."