Today's Top Stories

Blink-182 Release 'Bored To Death' Video

According to Courthouse News Service, the pair claim that during the first four days of trial, former rock journalist Michael Skidmore - representing Spirit guitarist Randy California (Wolfe) as an estate trustee -
failed to establish ownership of "Taurus," the 1968 song at the center of the lawsuit.

The duo argue the ownership of "Taurus" belongs to Lou Adler's Hollenbeck Music, while also claiming that the plaintiffs have not successfully demonstrated that the Zeppelin members had heard the song before writing "Stairway", while two music experts failed to present "admissible evidence of striking or substantial similarity" between the two songs.

On June 15th, video surfaced of Death Cab for Cutie appearing to suddenly abort a show in Charleston, SC. Frontman Ben Gibbard tossed a mic stand to the ground and abruptly stormed off during "Soul Meets Body," near the end of the set.

Fans and writers weren't sure what to make of the footage, which some described as a "breakdown." Death Cab's Nick Harmer spoke to Billboard to clarify what happened--attributing the sudden shutdown to a perfect storm of stress, technical failures and a fight in the crowd.

"It's kind of a non-story really," said Harmer. "It got spun as we left the stage mid-set. It was the last 20 seconds of the last song and all of Ben's equipment failed at the exact kind of unrelated moment there was a giant fight in front of us."

Guitarist Billy Gibbons reports: "We spend the biggest stretch of every year out on the road, whippin' wire, poundin' skin and rockin' it way up. This is the true document of live de la ZZ.

"In an abstract surrealist style, this collection is a definitive chronicle of the band hangin' together for four-plus deluxe decades, getting down to do what we get to do."

But last week, Jordison told Metal Hammer he had been diagnosed with a rare disease of the nervous system. It left him unable to play the drums properly and he had to be carried to the stage during his final run of shows with Slipknot.

And while he is angry at the way his dismissal was handled - via an email - Jordison won't rule out a return to the band if they would agree to a face-to-face meeting.

In a world exclusive interview with Metal Hammer magazine, Jordison says: "Honestly, I'm not trying to be dramatic, but if that was brought up, what I'd want to do would be to get together.

"I'd want to see them, just hug it out and feel that energy that we had when we were f***ing young and hungry and all that sh*t. They're my brothers. We'd hug and talk and do sh*t like we used to do. We used to sit up all night along planning this sh*t and what we wanted to do. So that's how I'd wanna do it.

The film features rare and exclusive footage, and was produced with the full cooperation of Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono Lennon and Olivia Harrison. The film is based on the first part of The Beatles' career (1962-1966), and will explore how John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr came together to form the band that changed the world.

The US and Canada trek was to begin on July 8 at Montreal's Club Soda in Quebec, Canada. A statement on behalf of the band reads: "Due to a family emergency, Architects are forced to cancel their upcoming North American tour.

Joining the band will be special guest Tal Wilkenfeld as their opening act. The Who are one of six classic rock acts set for Desert Trip, the new weekend event run by organizers of the annual Coachella festival.

After being caught out by a road crew member, Frehley was then asked to help them set up - and admits that he even spoke to drummer Mitch Mitchell without realizing it was him because he had changed his look.

He tells KFM-BFM: "There was a peace concert at Randall's Island, which is right next to Manhattan island in New York City. I was watching people walk in and out. I was watching the bands walk out to see other bands, and then I watched them walk back, and they'd just walked up with their head high and looked like they were somebody.

"So I just kind of walked in with this presence, like I was in one of the bands, and the security guy just figured I was in one of the bands. So I'm back there about 15 minutes, 20 minutes, and people were starting to say, 'Who is this f***ing guy?'

"Finally, one of the road guys came up and said, 'Are you in one of the bands?' I said, 'No. I snuck back here.' He said, 'Well, can you do anything?' I said, 'Yeah.'

"Next thing you know, I'm setting up Mitch Mitchell's drums. It was crazy." Frehley continues: "And then Mitch Mitchell walks over - but he he had changed his look. Because originally he started off with the afro, like Noel Redding and Jimi, and then he changed his image - he got the beard and he got the headband.

The final edition of the legendary Irish band changed their name to Black Star Riders in 2012, and while they are working on their third album, the members have launched a special series of shows to mark the 40th anniversary of the group's 1976 release, "Jailbreak", and 30 years since the passing of founder Phil Lynott.

Frontman Ricky Warwick, guitarists Scott Gorham and Damon Johnson, and keyboardist Darren Wharton are rounded out by Aerosmith bassist Tom Hamilton and Judas Priest drummer Scott Travis for the trek.

"I'm really psyched to be playing these shows with Thin Lizzy during my downtime with Aerosmith this summer," sas Hamilton. "It'll be great to rock out to their classic songs onstage."

"First of all, let me offer a sincere Thank You to Brian Downey and Thin Lizzy for allowing me to sit in with the band!," adds Travis. "Thin Lizzy are undisputed legends and to be a small part of their lineage is a humble honor for me. I hope to do the position good. It's gonna' be a blast!"

The band shared a clip of the sticksman tracking drums in the studio last month. Lombardo recently told Metal Wani: "I think it's very typical and very traditional Suicidal Tendencies. Our frontman Mike Muir has a very special style in which he writes his music and his lyrics and his structures. And I love it.

They're promoting their latest album The Black - their first with vocalist Denis Stoff - which launched in March. Guitarist Bruce admits the band were advised not to stream their album on Spotify following its release to maximize record sales - but they decided it was worth "taking the hit" to get a bigger audience.

He tells AltPress: "We got told to boycott Spotify for the first week or month, and we had to make a decision to say, 'No, we don't want to do that.' While it definitely lessens your album sales - quite a lot - it's still a much wider audience.

The Woolfson family say: "While going through our archives to research and find material for this new edition, we found a wealth of original memorabilia associated with the making of the album.

Meat Loaf previously said of the upcoming record: "It's like nothing you've ever heard. It's like Bat Out Of Hell was in '77 - nothing that's out there now can compare to it.

GTO's lineup is completed by former Mars Volta drummer Thomas Pridgen and Dethklok bassist Pete Griffin. The group premiered their single Crucifixion on the Radio 1 Rock Show this week.

Weinman told Daniel P Carter: "This band is the hardest thing I've ever had to achieve in my life. Many times I considered giving up on it because it just seemed like it wasn't meant to be.

Dweezil has toured under the banner Zappa Plays Zappa for 10 years but recently renamed it as Dweezil Zappa Plays Frank Zappa amid legal disputes between the guitarist and the Zappa Family Trust over trademarks and music licensing.

In a blog post, Dweezeil says: "I understand there may be some public confusion about all of this. Multiple name changes etc. I also understand that this drama may be a turn off to people.

The band have toured with various lineups down the years, but Williamson doesn't expect them to hit the road again. He tells Joel Gausten: "The Stooges is over. Basically, everybody's dead except for Iggy and I, so it would be sort of ludicrous to try to tour as Iggy And The Stooges with only one Stooge in the band, and then you have side guys.

Queen of the Sea is about me (Ryan) and life's struggles told metaphorically. In the song someone is battling a storm while lost at sea. He knows that the storm is too great, and that it's seemingly impossible to beat the Queen, Mother Nature. He chooses to challenge anyway knowing that he is likely doomed in this circumstance. The waves are too high, the ship he commands is to small, he has lost his crew and rations, but if he can just stay afloat, there is hope.

On a personal level it's about knowing you can make it through anything. The ending is not always positive as life can sometimes be overwhelmingly terrible, but there is always an end. You just have to keep going.

Life is consistent. Just like the story. The tides of the ocean come in and go out, but eventually the tide will come back in. If you stay calm and hold your breath the situation has to come to some sort of resolution.