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Day in Rock Report for 01/05/2018


Today's Day in Rock Stories


Guns N' Roses Reunion Now In Top 5 Tours Of All Time

(hennemusic) Guns N' Roses' blockbuster Not In This Lifetime reunion run has been so successful that it is now among the top five biggest-selling concert tours in music history.

Billboard reports that the trio of Axl Rose, Slash and Duff McKagan topped the $475 million mark in gross sales at the end of 2017 to place fourth on the all-time tour list, moving ahead of the fifth-place Roger Waters, whose 2010-2013 The Wall Live tallied $459 million.

U2's 360� stadium tour (2009-2011) tops the list at $736 million, followed by The Rolling Stones' A Bigger Bang trek at $558 million (2005-2007), and Coldplay's 2016-2017 shows at $523 million.

Guns N' Roses launched the reunion series with a rare club show at The Troubadour in Los Angeles on April 1, 2016; the band have extended the run into a third year and will return to the stage for a series of summer 2018 concert dates across Europe that will begin in Berlin, Germany on June 3.

Slash recently revealed that the Troubadour gig felt "very surreal" when he looked across the stage and saw Rose - after almost two decades apart - adding, "And it just snowballed from there. So it's been 18 months � if you had talked to me 20 months ago, I would have said, 'No f---ing way. It's never gonna happen.' But it did, and it was f---ing awesome.

"There were these moments on stage where you sort of take stock of where you are at the moment and go, 'Wow, this is a trip.' There was something about this particular tour that didn't take me back to the last tour in the '90s � it was completely unique in its own new thing. Same guys, same songs - but a whole different experience." Read more here.

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Metallica Declared The No. 1 Rock Artist of 2017

(hennemusic) Metallica have been named the No. 1 Rock Artist of 2017 by Nielsen Music as part of the global measurement and data analytics company's year-end music report.

The veteran metal outfit topped the rock list ahead of Imagine Dragons, The Beatles, Linkin Park and Twenty One Pilots after delivering a combined total of 1,836,000 album sales, TEA (track-equivalent albums, a unit of measurement where 10 paid downloads equal one album) and SEA (on-demand audio streaming-equivalent albums, another unit of measurement where 1,500 streams equal one album).

Metallica's tenth release, "Hardwired�To Self-Destruct", also placed at No. 3 on the Top Rock Albums of 2017 in the Nielsen Music review, behind projects by Imagine Dragons ("Evolve") and Twenty One Pilots ("Blurryface").

The band recently dominated the year-end Billboard rock charts in the US, where they landed at No. 1 on their Top Rock Albums and Hard Rock Albums rankings. Read more here.

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The Gaslight Anthem Reuniting For The 59 Sound Anniversary

(Gibson) It's been a couple of years since New Jersey rockers The Gaslight Anthem went on hiatus. Now, ten years after the release of their debut record - second album The '59 Sound - the band have announced a reunion and a run of shows to commemorate the album's anniversary.

The band's social media announced their inclusion on the (impressive) line-up of this year's Governors Ball festival in New York, with the caption, "Hello everyone! The '59 Sound is turning 10 this year so we're gonna do some shows to celebrate! Thank you all for your continued support, more shows to be announced soon!"

The band's Governors Ball performance is billed as "The Gaslight Anthem (performing The '59 Sound)," so one can safely assume that this will be the main focus of any more shows to be announced. Read more here.

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Fleetwood Mac Stream Previously-Unheard Version Of 'Landslide'

(hennemusic) Fleetwood Mac are streaming a previously-unheard early version of their classic, "Landslide", ahead of the January 19 release of an expanded reissue of their self-titled 1975 album.

Written by Stevie Nicks, the track appeared on the band's tenth record, which also marked their first with the singer and guitarist Lindsey Buckingham.

The 3CD/DVD/LP Deluxe Edition of "Fleetwood Mac" will present the original album with newly remastered audio on CD and 180-gram LP alongside a series of rare and unreleased studio and live material and a DVD with 5.1 Surround Sound and high-resolution mixes of the original release (track list available below).

The project will also be available in an expanded 2CD package, a single CD edition, and via digital download and streaming services. Following the "Fleetwood Mac" reissue, the group will become the first band honored as MusiCares Person Of The Year at the music industry charity's January 26 event at Radio City Music Hall in New York.

The outfit will be celebrated for their extraordinary creative accomplishments and significant charitable work by MusiCares, who provides a safety net and assistance for music people in times of financial, medical, and personal need.

"It's a tremendous honor to be the first band to receive the MusiCares Person of the Year award," says Mick Fleetwood. "Independently and together, we all set off on a journey to spend our lives as artists, songwriters and musicians. None of us did it alone and there were plenty of helping hands along the way, so we applaud and celebrate MusiCares' guiding principles of giving musicians a helping hand and a place to turn in times of need." Stream the song here.

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The Stray Cats Reuniting For First American Show In 10 Years

The Stray Cats have announced that they are reuniting for their very first North American performance in a decade when they take the stage at the Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend.

The reunion show will be taking place on April 21st at The Orleans in Las Vegas with Brian Setzer, Lee Rocker and Slim Jim Phantom set to deliver a headline performance. They three commented on the special show:

Brian Setzer had this to say, "There's something magic about a Stray Cats show, Viva Las Vegas is the perfect event to experience that. C'mon down and Rock This Town!"

Lee Rocker says, "Just a string bass, a guitar and a drum, Stray Cats are back to show em how it's done. 39 years after our first gigs, we're back! Can't wait to Rock again with my brothers Brian and Slim."

Slim Jim adds, "Happy and thrilled to be hitting the stage with the Cats at Viva Las Vegas. We're The Rockabilly Kings back to reclaim our throne!" Find more details about the event here.

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The Beatles Lead U.S Vinyl Sales To All Time High In 2017

(Radio.com) The classics never go out of style. Vinyl sales in America have a hit an all-time high, with 14.32 million records being sold from Dec. 30, 2016 through Dec. 28, 2017. That's a 9 percent increase over the 2016 numbers (via Billboard).

Leading the way were a pair of classic titles from the Beatles: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (72,000 copies) and Abbey Road (66,000). The top five was rounded out by the Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix Vol. 1 soundtrack at no. 3 (62,000 copies), Ed Sheeran's ÷ (Divide) (62,000 copies) and Amy Winehouse's Back to Black and Prince's Purple Rain (both selling 58,000 copies).

Other acts to move considerable units include Bob Marley and The Wailers, Legend: The Best Of' (49,000), Pink Floyd, The Dark Side of the Moon (54,000). Read more here.

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Alice Cooper Releases Promo For Paranormal Tour

(hennemusic) Alice Cooper is streaming a video preview for a spring 2018 tour of North America in support of his latest album, "Paranormal." Billed as "A Paranormal Evening With Alice Cooper", the month-long run will begin in Windsor, ON on March 1 and wrap up in Indianapolis, IN on March 29.

Cooper's 27th album, "Paranormal" reunites the rocker with producer Bob Ezrin and includes guest appearances by U2 drummer Larry Mullen Jr., ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons and Deep Purple bassist Roger Glover.

The package also includes a bonus disc consisting of six live tracks recorded last year in Columbus, OH with Cooper's current touring lineup and two brand new songs written and recorded together with original Alice Cooper Band members Dennis Dunaway, drummer Neal Smith and guitarist Michael Bruce.

Cooper recently premiered a video his next single, "The Sound Of A", a track whose origins date back 50 years and was rediscovered by the shock-rocker when Dunaway suggested the track during sessions for the project.

"Dennis brought in the song and he played it for me and I said, 'wow Dennis, I remember when you wrote this song in 1967,'" explains Cooper. "He goes, 'you're right about the year, but you wrote it!' He says, 'this was the first song you ever wrote.'

"So, he brought it in and Bob Ezrin says 'I love this, we gotta do this song.' In the end, it became the most psychedelic track because during the recording of it, everybody just went off on these guitar parts and it just swirled at the end. It really ended up being one of the most interesting songs on the album - with a great story behind it. I totally forgot that I wrote it!"

"The Sound Of A" will be issued February 23; available as a limited-edition CD single and on 10-inch white vinyl, the release also includes four previously unreleased live songs recorded in Columbus, Ohio in 2016. Watch the video and see the tour dates
here.

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Red Fang Launching Their Own Branded Wine

(Gibson) Portland stone-metal act Red Fang aren't really known for their love of fine wine. In fact, given their less than subtle videos - one features them escaping from a horde of beer-drinking zombies in a beer delivery van - you'd assume they're more of a beer-swilling collective.

As it turns out, the band's drummer John Sherman is somewhat of a wine connoisseur and knows a little bit about his grapes. Sherman was a frequent visitor at the Teutonic Wine Company, which makes Alpine-style wines. According to Sherman, "We do drink beer, but I personally prefer wine and consequently, I've always wanted to make a Red Fang wine. To meet winemakers who also dig heavy music was a dream come true. The first time I went to Teutonic's tasting room, they were playing Saxon on vinyl and I said to myself, 'These are my people.'"

Sherman's dream has now been realized with the upcoming launch of Teutonic's Red Fang Red, which is, according to Williamette Week, "a fruitily acidic blend of pinot, skin-contact gew�rztraminer and tannat, a big-bodied grape winery co-owner Olga Tuttle declared the most metal of grapes." Read more here.

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Judas Priest Releasing 'Lighting Strike' Music Video

(hennemusic) Judas Priest teased fans with a stream of a snippet of the music video for the new single, "Lightning Strike", ahead of its release on Thursday (January 5th).

Alongside the title track, the tune is the second song previewed from the veteran UK metal band's forthcoming album, "Firepower", which is due this spring. Recorded last year with producers Andy Sneap and Tom Allom, the group will launch their 18th studio record on a spring North American tour that will begin March 13 in Wilkes Barre, PA.

Judas Priest were recently named as one of 19 nominees under consideration for entry into the 2018 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame; despite being one of five acts that earned support on the Rock Hall fan ballot, the group failed to make the final cut with their first nomination.

"Personally, I would love it, yeah," frontman Rob Halford told 100.7 KSLX in Phoenix, AZ about his desire to enter the Cleveland-based institution. "I've said it before, I think we deserve it. We've put our 10,000 hours in and more. And beyond that, we just feel that heavy metal music deserves more space on the shelf at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.

"We were thrilled and honored to be even nominated, but it'skind of bittersweet we got the nomination, which is something of a recognition for the work that you've done, but we didn't quite get in this time. But I'm hopeful that eventually we'll get some more metal in there." Watch the preview clip here.

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Paul McCartney and Yoko Ono React To Ringo Being Knighted

(Gibson) Yoko Ono has joined Paul McCartney in expressing her congratulations to Ringo Starr on the latter's recent knighthood. As reported previously, the former Beatles drummer was bestowed the honor by Queen Elizabeth II in her 2018 New Year's Honors list.

"Dear Sir Ringo," Ono wrote, in a tweet. "I am very happy that you have received this honour from the Queen. It's about time! Huge congratulations! I am delighted for you and your family. It is an honour for everyone in the Beatles family and I love you very much."

Ono's sentiments come just a few days after McCartney posted his own congratulations. "Huge congrats Sir Ringo!" wrote McCartney. "Sir Richard Starkey has a nice ring to it. Best drummer, best pal!" here.

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Tracii Guns Talks L.A. Guns Comeback Album

(Gibson) 2017 was a banner year for L.A. Guns fans, as singer Phil Lewis reunited with Tracii Guns to record a new album with the band's classic lineup. Released in October, The Missing Peace has been hailed by many as a glorious throwback to the group's late '80s heyday.

Recently, Guitar World shared Tracii Guns' responses to some of the publication's readers' questions." Asked to explain how the new album came together, Guns replied, "The greatest thing about not doing new L.A. Guns music for over 10 years was being able to look at what L.A. Guns really is, musically. And the strongest element of L.A. Guns is that sleaze/hair metal kind of dark thing that we did. Taking some elements of punk rock and mixing them with classic rock and speeding all that [stuff] up."

Guns went on to describe a few of the songs as "snotty riff-rock," adding that some of the music was culled from material he originally wrote for Quiet Riot in 2005. Naturally, one reader asked about the gear used on the album. After describing his various amps and pedals, Guns revealed he pretty much stuck to just one guitar.

"The main guitar I used for everything wasn't even my own guitar," he said. "My tech has a really nice Gibson R9 [1959 Les Paul Reissue] with Bare Knuckle The Mule pickups in it. It sounded great." here.

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The Bee Gees One For All Tour Live Coming To Home Video

Eagle Rock have announced the February 2nd release of The Bee Gees One For All Tour Live, which they will be offering on DVD, SD Blu-ray and digital formats. We were sent the following details:

The special package was recorded live in Melbourne, Australia at The National Tennis Centre in November 1989, in Australia 1989 has been fully restored with newly mixed and mastered surround sound.

This release captures The Bee Gees on their 'One for All World Tour' celebrating the band's eighteenth studio album, One. This classic career-spanning concert, part of the Bee Gees first global tour in ten years, sees the Gibb brothers performing tracks from as far back as their 1968 breakthrough US Top 10 hit "I've Gotta Get A Message To You", through their seventies and eighties hits, with electrifying performances of their dance-era smashes including "Stayin' Alive'" and "Jive Talking" as well as selections from the One album, for their legions of adoring fans. Read more including the tracklistingd here.

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Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl Rocks The Arts And Crafts Store

(Radio.com) Dave Grohl is truly an inspiration. The Foo Fighters frontman is among the faithful keeping rock and roll alive and kicking, and that spirit is with him wherever he goes. Even if he's just kicking it an arts and crafts store.

Grohl was spotted picking up a few things at his local Michael's craft store, prompting a great selfie with a fan that hit Reddit recently. The image of Grohl hanging the aisles of a crafts store inspired some fans to dream up some rather stellar Foo Fighters-related puns to caption the moment.

"There goes my hero. Watch him as he sews," an obvious play on Foo Fighters' 1997 classic, "My Hero," seems to be the clear fan favorite. Other fans put spins on "Everlong" ('If any thread could ever feel this reel forever" ) and "Best Of You" ('Is someone knitting a vest, a vest, a vest with you?" ). See some of the best responses here.

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Elton John Posts Heartfelt Tribute To His Mother After Funeral

(Radio.com) Elton John has shared a loving memorial to his mother, Sheila Farebrother, who died on Dec. 4 at age 92. A private funeral service was held this week (Jan. 3), and afterwards John shared a tribute to his late mom on Instagram.

"Dear Mum Today's funeral was perfect," the pop legend captioned the photo. "Having the service in the family chapel and attended by your brother and sister brought us all comfort. Having the service where Nan lived out her final days brought you and your Mother back together again.

Tomorrow your friends will gather separately to say their good byes. I've chosen all the music so everything will be just right. Thank-you for bringing me into the world and for all that you have done for me. Love, Elton #RIP."
John mourned his mother's passing publicly during a show in Hamburg, Germany, last month, dedicating "Your Song" to her memory. See the post
here.

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Greg Lake Live In Piacenza Gets Limited Edition Release

Manticore Italy Records has announced the release of "Greg Lake Live In Piacenza" Limited Box Set, CD & Vinyl. We were sent the following details:

Recorded in sound-demonstration quality this is the documentary of Greg Lake's last tour, recorded on November 28, 2012 in a sold out Teatro Municipale in Piacenza. It was a very special, magical evening, as Greg remembered in his outstanding autobiography, Lucky Man.

The audience was so warm and he gave such a passionate performance. The Mayor of Piacenza and all the municipality attended the concert and went on stage thanking Mr. Lake for opening the "Musiche Nuove in Piacenza" festival. The concert was a triumph and eventually on January 9, 2016 the trustees of Conservatorio Nicolini of Piacenza gave Greg Lake the first honorary degree ever given by a Conservatorio.

This is a wonderful record, bringing the "Songs Of A Lifetime" project to its highest point. Exclusively for this concert, Greg performed with 3 special guests: Le Orme's leader Aldo Tagliapietra, ex PFM and Acqua Fragile's great vocalist Bernardo Lanzetti and the young talented Annie Barbazza, making the Piacenza show even more special and rare. It was Greg's wish that a precious, audiophile limited edition would re-launch his Manticore Label. Read more here.

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Ornimental Streaming New Song 'Love Thy Enemy'

Ft. Lauderdale, FL metalers Ornimental have released a lyric video for their latest single "Love Thy Enemy", the clip can be streamed online and the song is available for streaming and download.

The group had the following to say about the song, "Love Thy Enemy is about somebody that betrayed someone so bad that they could start dedicating their life to start a war with them.

"It could start as revenge with that prideful, arrogant person, but decided that the righteous path of love is better for both sides. " Watch the brand new lyric video here.

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