Today's Day in Rock Stories

Slipknot's Jim Root Undergoes Surgery

But frontman Draiman says the spectacle is similar to "a guy dressing up" as the late singer and performing with the band - and that it fails to respect his legacy.

Draiman tells Vorterix (via Blabbermouth): "It makes me sad. I'm always happy to hear any music from anybody that's left us, that we've lost. But the hologram thing almost isn't letting the dead be dead. It just seems weird.

Slipknot frontman Taylor last week revealed that he'd agreed to appear on the track without having heard it in advance, adding: "As a fan and as a friend, it was something we'd been talking about for years.

Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson reveal "The Legend Of The Bag", which saw Lifeson dress up as 'The Bag' to entertain fellow band members and touring partners, including KISS.

"The Bag would just pop up every once in a while - it was just a face drawn on a big laundry bag," explains Lifeson. "I'd make two holes for eyes and draw a stupid face on it, wear sweat pants and stick my arms through the sweat pants, so only my hands came out at the knee. And The Bag was always drunk, and really smart, and knew everything, and made a lot of suggestions to people in the room; running commentary for a few hours."

The after-show party often ended up in KISS guitarist Ace Frehley's room, with The Bag entertaining everyone�except Gene Simmons. "Gene was very, very upset with The Bag," Lifeson adds, "and that made Ace even happier."

"Gene was straight and wasn't high like we were," says Lee, "so he had a different sense of reality when he came into Ace's room. We were drinking, smoking and generally being idiots.

He said in April: "This will be my farewell. I'm looking at retiring next year, on the 30th anniversary of the 1987 album." The veteran vocalist recently told Metropolis Radio "When I was mixing The Purple Album I'm going, 'Man, how long do I have to do this?' But in essence it's re-energised me. I was totally honest - I thought, 'This is probably it.' But I had an incredibly good time on tour with my musicians

They say in a statement: "As usual we are asking for your help to fund this project so we are offering a pre-order limited edition double album, the second disc of which will be songs only available on this edition and limited to 2000 copies.

And he says he lost more money than he ever made from the band as he tried to protect it from what he saw as a hostile takeover.

Lancaster and Rossi formed Status Quo in 1962, and remained together until Lancaster's acrimonious split in 1985, following the departure of original drummer John Coghlan three years previously.

The Frantic Four - also featuring Rick Parfitt - reunited in 2013 and again the following year, while the 21st-century Quo lineup continued to operate.

Lancaster tells Australia's Studio 10: "It was a cocaine thing that broke Status Quo up. Cocaine was endemic in the business around the time. It makes you feel as if you're better than everybody else, superior. I think that's when we started to lose our brotherhood.

Anselmo advised Down to continue without him in the aftermath of his behaviour at this year's Dimebash in Hollywood in January, where he made a Nazi salute and uttered the incendiary phrase.

In his apology he said it was an "inside joke" that had gone wrong, although he acknowledged it was unacceptable. Bower tells Clrvynt: "When it happened, knowing Phil and our extremely dark sense of humour, I blew it off as him being stupid.

"Then Robb Flynn put the video up saying how his feelings were hurt, and the people things were starting to say made me understand that what he said was not cool and not funny, even in a joking sense, and it did hurt people's feelings.

"It was really weird, because it honestly wasn't a big deal to me, just because I know how Phil is. We joke about stupid sh*t. I guess the lesson learned is that you can't do that around other people.

He's recorded for their first single, also called A Killer's Confession, to be released on October 31. It appears on their full-length debut Unbroken, set for launch on February 17 via EMP Label Group, run by Megadeth's David Ellefson.

Downing produced the album and was also behind the desk for their 2013 debut Eve Of Destruction. The New World Disorder includes a cover version of Priest track Blood Stained.

On how the band came to be working with Downing, Hostile guitarist AJ Mills tells Steel Mill: "KK actually went to school with my uncle Steve, believe it or not. We are all from the same hood, the Black Country, where, as you well know, is the birthplace of heavy metal.

"Steve convinced KK to step out of his metal fortress in Shropshire to come and check out Hostile play live at a place called JB's in Dudley. The really cool thing about this is that Priest actually used to play at this venue, when they were just starting out. After the show, KK told us that he would like to produce our album, so we played it cool whilst he was still there, and after he left to go back home, we all went crazy.

The 2014 project features a collection of songs Nicks has written and recorded through the years but never made it onto an album. The selections were all newly-recorded in Nashville and co-produced by Nicks, Dave Stewart and guitarist Waddy Wachtel.

"I used to make cassettes of my songs and hand them out," explains the Fleetwood Mac singer. "But to know that these songs have finally been recorded with the same love they were originally created is joyous for me. I picked 12 songs from about 40 demos made from '69 - '87 and one each from 94 and 95.

The vocalist tells Loudwire: "We're gonna continue to tour with Hatebreed and come off the road a day before Halloween. We're going to take November and December off and go into the studio and do something very special.

"We're going to record something real special. It's not a new record, well, not a new original record, but something really special."

Frontman Matt Heafy says: "The UK was the first place to embrace Trivium on the planet - and Europe was the first home for Trivium playing internationally way back in 2003.

Announcing the album recently, vocalist and guitarist Page Hamilton said: "Catch phrases, punchlines, guns, bluster, ammo, incivility, impatience, murder. You, me, us, them, life, liberty and the pursuit of property.

"We disagree, we disrespect, discourse disappears in the age of access. When in doubt, get loud! It's my way or the highway."

Dead To The World was produced by Hamilton and mixed by Jay Baumgardner. The album will be available on CD, digipak, digital and transparent vinyl, with pre-order to be announced in due course.

Described as, "The rock & roll drama, thriller that our generation has been waiting for," the movie focuses on a young rock band who quit college and relocate to the bright lights of the Sunset Strip to follow their dreams - where they make a pact with a mysterious stranger to guarantee them fame and wealth.

Black Spiders say: "Good day to you Grotes and Scrotes. We bring you grave news, to follow on a sparrow's tale. After burning the wick and oil all night and moulding the candle wax into effigies, looking over all the nautical maps we could find and lunar cycles, we have agreed that geographical differences do not allow us to continue with Black Spiders at this current time.

Frontman and guitarist Charlie Starr says: "We always love to bring new music to crowds who really appreciate it. Some of our favourite moments on stage have come from touring all over Europe and we can't wait to share Like An Arrow with our friends and fans over there. It is a great mix of what we love to do best."

Tickets for the tour go on sale from Friday at 9am on Live Nation. An exclusive ticket and album pre-order bundle can also be purchased at Planet Rock's ticket line on Ticketmaster.

The festival takes place from April 20 to 23 in Tilburg. Baizley says: "It is such a high honour to have even been considered for the role. I feel genuinely privileged to have fostered so many wonderful relationships within the microcosmic-world that surrounds this incredibly unique festival.

"I could never have dreamed that I'd get to communicate with, let alone invite and present so many incredible bands during this one consolidated musical event.

Last month, Keylock released a stream of his new single Against The Grain - and he's now issued a lyric video for the track, which features on the Fabrizio Grossi-produced album. Watch it below.

Speaking of some of the tracks, Keylock says: "Just One Question was probably the first song I ever wrote when I was 13. Musically and lyrically it was just a blues song and it's funny to think it's still with me and that I've been playing it for almost five years.

"Against The Grain was penned about three years ago now and has grown on the road. I had a Led Zeppelin style riff, mixed it with some Johnny Winter vibe and stamped my own style on it."

It all happened during rehearsals! Victor was late as usual, so we started jamming. 20 minutes later, he storms in, plugs in his mic (we continue jamming, of course) and starts singing something, just to avoid explaining why he was late again. He starts mumbling this chorus, Juno discovers the guitar theme, bass and drums play along and fill in the dots. There you go - how to write a song in 10 minutes. We polished it a bit and put it in our set list for the next gig. On stage, it totally exploded - this song was a bundle of energy.

That's why, when we started planning our EP, we totally went for 'Leave Leave Leave' as our debut single. It's the best signature and example of our energy on stage.

'Leave Leave Leave' is the power to survive by yourself, always remember that you're the only one that you should count on. Always know that even the darkest moments in your life are empowering and make you cross over your limits. And now it is also our debut story, which makes it even more special.

But songs are never about something in particular. They exist to be shared and transformed by each who touches them, plays them, hums them, listens to them. They adapt to time, history and personal stories. They're sound kaleidoscopes, happenings, coincidences and, who knows - maybe even faith.